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Dive into life

I like your tenacity: the way you grab onto something and don’t let it go. This is a good trait.

Also, you’re quite the explorer: you see a gap, an opening in the door, and you make a bee-line straight for it. When we go for walks in your stroller, we strap you in very tight because all you want to do is sit up and look at everything. You have to see everything, everyone, be involved, learn, absorb, experience.

If the fridge is opened, you scurry over like a quick little salamander and head right into it. You won’t let us close it until you’ve finished exploring it.

You crawl into our bedroom and close the door behind you. Excuse us!

You’re fearless: You dive head first down the slides, screeching with pleasure all the way down, while Your Mother holds her breath in terror.

I think it’s good that when you want something, you go for it. Just remember, that you’re not always going to get what you want.

You are allowed to fail, as long as you tried your best and gave it your all.

If you don’t succeed at something because you didn’t try your best, and son, only you will know if you tried your best or not, you’ll feel worse than anyone can make you feel.

While we do think you are clever [how can we not?] we won’t tell you this often, because people who are told they are clever tend to worry about making mistakes, and they worry about not really being clever enough. This seems like such a waste of energy no? All this worrying over nonsense.

But that’s just how the human mind works. If we are told things often enough, and convincingly enough, we tend to believe them. Now there’s nothing wrong with believing that you are clever – it’s good to have self-confidence and believe in your abilities. The problem comes when you don’t succeed in things. And it’s a fact of life that not everything you try will work out. I can promise you that. There’s nothing to be ashamed of: such is the way of the world. Sometime’s we’re up, sometimes we’re down. Sometimes we’re lucky, and sometimes we’re unlucky. Sometimes, even though we tried our hardest, we still don’t succeed.

So don’t worry too much about becoming clever, or trying to show people how clever you are.

It’s not important how clever you are, or how clever your friends are. What’s important is the effort you put into something.

If you put in a good, honest effort into something [it can be anything: studies, projects, sports, love, business] and you succeed, you will have felt like you earned your success, like it was well deserved. If you don’t put in the effort and you succeed, well then, you were lucky.

My little explorer.

Here’s a poem I like by T.H. Palmer

Try try again

‘Tis a lesson you should heed,
If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, try again;

Then your courage should appear,
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear
Try, try again;

Once or twice, though you should fail,
If you would at last prevail,
Try, try again;

If we strive, ’tis no disgrace
Though we do not win the race;
What should you do in the case?
Try, try again

If you find your task is hard,
Time will bring you your reward,
Try, try again

All that other folks can do,
Why, with patience, should not you?
Only keep this rule in view:
Try, try again.